Golf ball and process for making the same



Sepf; 12, 1933. R. F. SMITH 1,926,315

GOLF BALL AND PROCESS FOR. HAKING THE SAME Filed April 2a, 19223 IN VENTOR' 3705672 J2? SmIL Z72, B Y

.11 ATTORNEY Patented Sept. 12, 1 933 UNITED STATES PATENT orrlcs GOLF BALL PROCESS FOR MAKING THE SAME Robert F. Smith, Longmeadow, R. I., assignor to Revere Rubber Company, Providence, R. L, a corporation of Rhode Island Application April 28, 1928. Serial No. 273,511 3 Claims. ((31.273-62) While golf balls have been made in a wide va- The core 1 may be manufactured in any suitriety of ways, the ball in use today generally able'and convenient manner and as shown it. comprises a nucleus or center of hard or soft comprises a loaded center 2 enclosed in an enconstruction about' which is wound vulcanized velope or jacket of relatively soft rubber compo rubber thread under tension which is finally ensition 3 which in turn is surrounded by windings 60 closed in a cover marked externally. I- Iereto- 4 of vulcanized rubber thread applied under tenfore the covers have been made in various ways, sion as well understood in the art. Any conbut generally they employ a composition whose struction of thread wound center may be em-. chief ingredient is balataor gutta percha or like ployed, a soft or plastic core'of the mobile type materials either alone or admixed and also either being preferred by some manufacturers. The 65 compounded or uncompounded with small quanthread winding -may be omitted,.however, for tities of other materials. Some, manufacturers some types of. inexpensive balls, such'as are used vulcanize the covers more or less superficially, for practice purposes. and some manufacturers do not. To the con- The core 1, however it may have been manu- I flicting demands of professionals and duifers factured, isthen, according to the present inven- 70 these old covers have, not been entirely satistion, enclosed in layers 5 and 6 of a composition factory. hereinafter to be described. These layers 5 and The present invention aims to provide a new -6 may be applied to the center 1 in any suitable and improved ball having greater distance and and convenient manner but the layer 5 is preferdurability, i.e., more especially resistance to cutably died or molded in hemispherical halves, in the '75 ting, and which has the desired click, and is form shown in Fig. 2, and these are assembled snappy, 01f the club, pleasing alike to excelabout the vulcanized thread wound center 1. lent and mediocre players, a desideratum long The layer 6 is preferably died out in halves, of the sought in the art. And it also aims to provide an incised form illustrated in Fig. 3 of the drawing,

improved process for manufacturing the article, each half being then tucked into the respective 80 With the preferred embodiment in mind and halves 7 and 8 of the mold illustrated in Fig. 4 without intention to limit the scope more than is after which the center 1 with the assembled halves required by the prior art, thei'nvention briefly of the layer 5 is introduced into the mold cavi ystated consists in a cover for golf balls having The mo d, f course, i u t s p d a iinner la r next to the thread winding which cated diagrammatically at 9 to impart the desired '85 cushions or yields under impact with a club and co figuration or marking to h ex or o the which more quickly regains its form after leavball. ing the club than as heretofore constructed, and e mold is then closed v911161 subjected to a an outer layer of less yielding or cushioning masuitable heat t eat t depending course p I t i L o f th manypossible ways ofac the ingredients in the composition of the layers complishing the objects of the invention is to 5 and 6 in r r t impr p n the xterior of employ more rubber in the composition of the e ball the desired configuration or marking inner layer than in the outer layer. and also as well in order to effect a thorough An embodiment of the invention is illustrated pa tin and consolidation f the layers 5 a d 40 i th accompanying drawing in which: 6 into a practically integral one-piece cover. -Of

Fig. 1 shows a section through the center of a course, as well understood in the art, the molding finished ball. heat treatment should not-detrimentally affect Fig. 2 shows a section through the resilient mathe previously vulc niz d hr d wind if h terial forming an inner layer of the cover, before Core 1 being Covered is f h p Which y it is applied to the ball. are present.

Fig. 3 shows a sheet of a hard mat rial form- Following this molding heat treatment the flash ing an outer layer of the cover of the ball before Ove fl w is v d and bufiedf a Vulcanizit is applied to the ball. ing composition has been employed in the cover Fig. 4 is a section through a mold containing stocks, the ball may then be vulcanized by suitable 50 t wound center and over of the golf b n in vulcanizing treatment. With the particular cover molded form. stocks later herein mentioned, it is preferred to Fig. 5 is a perspective view showing a'layer of subject the ball to a prolonged sulphur chloride the resilient material and a layer of the covering vapor cure to superficially vulcanize its exterior, material which'may be employed as an alterna- But vulcanization of the previously-molded ball 5 tive procedure. I or of the ball while in the mold is optional. Some manufacturers prefer not to vulcanize the covers at all.

After the ball has been thus finished, it is finally painted a desired color, and this may be donein any manner well known in the art.

While the layers 5 and 6 of the cover may be of any suitable thickness, in the ball illustrated the layer 5 is of a thickness of approximately .13 inches at the'time of application to the center and the layer 6 of a thickness of .025'inches, at least-when the compositions are of the formula hereinafter given. It-is to be understood, however, thatthese thicknesses may be varied with more or less advantage without departing from the principles of the invention, and depending of course in large measure upon the particular ingredients employed.

While the composition of the layers 5 and 6 may be widely varied, it has been found satisfactory In the aboveformula it will be noticed that the same ingredients are employed and that the inner layer 5 contains about the sameproportions of balata and rubber whereas the outer layer 6 contains about five times as, much balata as rubber. These formula are given merely for the purpose of illustration as-there'are obviously many other compositions and proportions of ingredients which might be employed with more or less advantage in attainingthe objects of the present invention. For instance the soft or cushioning character desired in the inner layer 5 may be attained by using only rubber which is capable of -'regainin'g its form or a less or greater proportion of rubber to balata than given in the above formula. For example also the outer layer may be entirely of balata without any rubber in its makeup. Instead of the ingredients zinc sulphide and magnesium carbonate which yield a relatively white stock desirable beneath the paint, any other suitable filling and compounding ingredients may be employed.

Generally therefore while theabove formula! of the composition of the inner and outer layers 5 and 6 are preferred, not only because they enable the objects of the invention to be achieved but also because the relatively great thickness of the inner layer and thejproportions of rubber and balata make it less expensive than compositions employing a higher ratio of balata to rubber, it is to be understood that these formula: are merelyillustrativ'e and that any other ingredients which-will yield the desired qualities in the finished'ball-may be employed; and also that the thicknesses of the layers constituting thecover may be varied.

In its broad aspects the invention comprehends the use of any material in any proportion and in any thicknesses of layers, or strata which will yield, in the finished. .ball, an inner layer or stratum having a'greater capacity'to yield under impact of a club than the outer layer. For manthe flash line.

ufacturing purposes, the outer'layer, which is stiffer than the inner layer, should be of such composition that it will readily take in the mold the desired configuration or. marking under timetemperature conditions, which will not impair the elasticity of the tension thread wound core from which core, as is well understood in the art, the resilience and form regaining capacity ofgolf ball is in large part derived. For manufacture also the outer layer desirably should be of a composition readily trimmed and buffed preliminary to painting; also it should be still or less deformable to a degree such that it will not wrinkle or crease under impact from a club as wrinkling or creasing under such impact will sooner or later cause the paint to flake off. On the other hand the inner layer is most desirably made of a composition which will cushion or yield under impact, and to this end it is preferred to incorporate the material in the cover of the finished ball under little or no tension. The inner yielding jlayer of composition better enables the ball to recover its shape because the hard wound core, made up of wound thread, becomes flattenedat itself to its oiiginal shape, and in doing soil; is retarded if the cover next to it is dead and hard,

' whereas with the soft inner cover the thread core is enabled to recover its original shape 'more readily. From tests on finished balls made ac- N cording to the present invention it has been found, however, that the ingredients in the proportions given in the above formula: and employed in stock of the above stated thicknesses have yielded satisfactory results.

While in the foregoing particular reference has been made, to balata and rubber as preferred ingredients, it is to be understood that in lieu of balata, other non-caoutchouc vulcanizable gums,

the time of the driifie and endeavors to readjust 100 such as gutta percha, pontianic, maybe employed either alone or in admixture witheach other or with balata. And in the. claims the term "noncaoutchouc vulcanizable gum is used to comprehend such materials or their substitutes in contradiction to rubber, or caoutchouc.

A golf ball constructed according to the presvent invention has been found to-possess greater resistance to cutting than heretofore made, to

have'the desired click and snappy feel of the clu so much desired by professionals. It also seems to give a somewhat greater distance, and it may be manufactured with: less material cost than heretofore owing to the greater amount of less expensive rubber in its cover. It lends itself prior technique and permits of the necessary. distinctness and permanency of the external color of the ball. P

In lieu of the par c Pmess assembling the layers 5 and 6 on the centpr 1, other procedures may be followed such as illustrated in Fig. 50f the drawing, in which a disk of the inner stock is superimposed upon a disk of the outer,

stock of slightly larger dimensions 50) that the, two assembled disks "when J introduced into each half of a mold about the core 1 complete the assemblage of the parts without undue-waste at 2' Having thus described my invention, what I claim and desire to protect by Letters Patent is:

1. A golf ball having a core wound with vul-- canized rubber thread under tension, and a composition cover containing non-caoutchouc vulto manufacture without great departure from 130 canizable gum and caoutchouc composition in two l I canized rubber thread under tension, and a vulcanized composition cover containing balata and 'rubbercomposition in'two strata, the innermost L of which is more yielding than theoutermost.

3. A golif bail having cover containing balata and rubber in two integral molded layers, the inner of which contains approximately equal proportions of balata and rubber and the outer of which contains less rubber than balata.

ROBERT F. SMITH. 

